Home appliance and online system including the same

ABSTRACT

An online system, including a smart laundry machine, which is capable of easily and inexpensively using the smart laundry machine is disclosed. A further extended type of a smart home appliance, an online system including the same, and a method of using the online system are also disclosed. A method of using an online system includes transmitting user information to a server through an external terminal to log in to the server, the server specifying a home appliance for a remote service based on the user information received from the external terminal and determining whether remote service activation of the specified home appliance is set, upon determining that the remote service activation of the home appliance is set, the server transmitting operation information of the home appliance to the external terminal, the external terminal transmitting a command signal to the server such that the home appliance is operated based on the received operation information, the server receiving the command signal, and the server transmitting the command signal to the home appliance such that the home appliance is operated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/017,517 filed Sep. 4, 2013, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Application No. 10-2012-0098946filed on Sep. 6, 2012, whose entire disclosures are hereby incorporatedby reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present invention relates to a laundry machine and, moreparticularly, to a laundry machine which communicates with externaldevices to perform not only original functions of the laundry machinebut also additional functions of the laundry machine. The additionalfunctions include functions extended from the original functions of thelaundry machine and new functions having no relation to the originalfunctions of the laundry machine. In addition, the laundry machineincludes functions to operate the laundry machine without directlyapproaching the laundry machine from outside. Such a laundry machine maybe referred to as a smart laundry machine.

The present invention also relates to an online system including thesmart laundry machine and, more particularly, to an online system thatis capable of easily and inexpensively using the smart laundry machine.

The present invention also relates to a further extended type of a smarthome appliance, an online system including the same, and a method ofusing the online system.

2. Background

A washing machine that washes clothes is a typical laundry machine. Adrying machine that dries clothes may also be referred to as a laundrymachine. Of course, a combo washer dryer that washes and dries clothesmay also be referred to as a laundry machine.

In recent years, a refresher that refreshes clothes using hot air orsteam instead of washing using water has entered the market. Therefresher may also be referred to as a laundry machine.

In addition, a dishwasher that washes dishes may also be referred to asa laundry machine in a broad sense although the dishwasher does not washclothes. In this specification, therefore, the laundry machine includesall kinds of equipment as described above.

In this specification, a washing machine as a typical example of alaundry machine will hereinafter be described. The present invention isapplicable to other kinds of laundry machines as long as the laundrymachines are neither exclusive nor incompatible.

FIG. 1 shows a control panel applicable to a conventional washingmachine or a washing machine according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The control panel is provided to interface with a user. Therefore, thecontrol panel is generally provided at the front of the washing machinefor easy access and operation. The control panel may have variousbuttons for user manipulation and various display units to provideinformation to the user.

A main function of the washing machine is washing. Accordingly, thewashing machine is provided with a course selection unit 110 or a mainfunction selection unit to select various washing courses. The user mayselect a course using the course selection unit 110 or the main functionselection unit. For example, the course selection unit 110 may be formedin the shape of a rotary knob. A course indication unit 111 may beprovided at the control panel 100 in order for user to easily select acourse. The user may manipulate the course selection unit 110 based onthe course indication unit 111 to select a desired washing course.

As shown in FIG. 1, the course indication unit 111 has various washingcourses, which are arranged around the rotary knob 110. The user mayturn the rotary knob of the course selection unit 110 to select acorresponding washing course. A display unit 121 may be provided toindicate the selected washing course. Consequently, the user may easilyconfirm the selected washing course through the display unit 121. Thedisplay unit 121 may be implemented as a blinking light emitting diode(LED) or the like.

An option selection unit 120 may be provided to select optionalfunctions added to or modified from the main functions. The optionselection unit 120 may be provided in a variety of forms. For example,FIG. 1 shows an option selection unit 120 which enables selection ofoptions related to washing 120 a, rinsing 120 b, spin-drying 120 c,water temperature 120 d, drying 120 e, steam 120 f, and a scheduledoperation 120 g. An option display unit 122 to display the selectedoption may also be provided. The option display unit 122 may also beimplemented as an LED or the like.

In addition, the control panel 100 may be provided with an auxiliaryselection unit 124 to select an auxiliary function. The auxiliaryselection unit 124 may be provided to dry (122) and refresh (125) shoesin a space, such as a pedestal, separated from the washing machine. Theauxiliary selection unit 124 may be configured to have the same form asthe option selection unit 120. In addition, the auxiliary selection unit124 may be provided to select items different from the abovementionedwashing courses and options.

The control panel 100 may be provided with a state display unit 130 todisplay a state of the washing machine. The state display unit 130 maydisplay the current operation state of the washing machine orinformation regarding a course, an option, and time selected by theuser.

For example, in a case in which the washing machine is performing arinsing step, the state display unit 130 may display “rinsing inprogress.” In a case in which the washing machine is waiting for courseinput, the state display unit 130 may display “please input a washingcourse.” In addition, the state display unit 130 may indicate a currenttime or a time (remaining time) remaining until the washing machinecarries out an entire washing course to complete operation.

Meanwhile, the control panel 100 may be provided with a power selectionunit 140 to power the washing machine on and off and a run/pauseselection unit 150 to put the washing machine into operation or pause.

The control panel 100 as described above and the washing machineincluding the same have the following problems.

It is difficult to implement an additional user interface at the controlpanel 100 in addition to a basic user interface of the control panel 100due to spatial limitations of the control panel 100. Of course, a userinterface may be implemented at the control panel 100 in complex andvarious fashions, which however requires excessive concentration andprior knowledge on the part of the user. Furthermore, it is difficult tomanufacture the control panel 100 and a high capacity memory is neededwith the result that cost of the washing machine is excessivelyincreased.

In addition, the selection units 110 and 120 and the indication anddisplay units 111, 121, and 122 have preset functions with the resultthat it is not easy to extend the functions of the respective units.

Meanwhile, the washing machine is generally installed in a laundry room,which the user does not frequently access. For this reason, the user mayhave much trouble in entering the laundry room and directly accessingthe washing machine only for using the washing machine.

In addition, even though various kinds of information are indicated anddisplayed through the indication and display units 111, 121, 122, and130, such indication or display of information may be meaningless if theuser does not directly access the washing machine.

Consequently, it is necessary to provide a laundry machine that iscapable of carrying out not only original functions of the laundrymachine but also functions extended from the original functions of thelaundry machine or new functions having no relation to the originalfunctions of the laundry machine.

In addition, it is necessary to provide a laundry machine that iscapable of implementing extended functions or new functions withoutreplacement or modification of an existing control panel, i.e. withoutchange in hardware of the laundry machine.

In particular, an operation time of the laundry machine from start toend of the operation procedure may be one hour or more. In addition, itis not desirable to leave laundry in the laundry machine after washingis completed. Consequently, it is necessary to remotely control thelaundry machine when away from home. This is because, when the userremotely controls the laundry machine, it is possible to preset anoperation completion time of the laundry machine and to remove washedlaundry from the laundry machine at a set time.

Of course, a conventional laundry machine has a scheduled operationoption. In this case, however, it is not possible to remotely controlthe laundry machine outdoors. For this reason, even when a scheduledoperation condition cannot be satisfied (for example, a user returnshome later than expected), it is not possible to change a scheduledoperation time.

Meanwhile, it may be necessary to remotely control many home appliances,such as an oven, a cleaner, a refrigerator, a water purifier, and an airconditioner, in addition to a laundry machine, such as a drying machine,a washing machine, a refresher, and a dishwasher.

The above problems are not merely limited to the laundry machine. Theproblems may be equally caused even in home appliances, such as arefrigerator, an oven, an air conditioner, and a robot cleaner. This isbecause each of the home appliances has a configuration corresponding tothe control panel of the laundry machine, i.e. a configuration for auser interface. In addition, this is because each of the home applianceshas selection units to carry out original functions of each homeappliance and indication and display units corresponding to theselection units and the need to extend the functions to implement newfunctions are the same as in the laundry machine. That is, extension ofthe user interface is difficult for many home appliances due to spatialor cost limitations thereof.

Several persons commonly use home appliances in a house due tocharacteristics of the home appliances. As a result, confusion betweenone user who directly manipulates the laundry machine and another userwho remotely controls the laundry machine may occur. For this reason, itis necessary to provide a home appliance that can be remotely controlledin a state in which such confusion is prevented.

In this specification, a washing machine as a typical example of thelaundry machine will hereinafter be described. The present invention isapplicable to other kinds of laundry machines as long as the laundrymachines are neither exclusive nor incompatible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a control panel of a laundry machine, which isan example of a home appliance;

FIG. 2 is a view showing linkage among a server, a home appliance, andan external terminal, which may implement an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing an embodiment in which a device management (DM)client is mounted in a display board of a home appliance;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an embodiment of a member joining andactivation procedure and configuration;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an embodiment of a procedure and configurationof an external terminal downloading an application program and aprocedure and configuration of a user requesting a management service;

FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of a firmware or software upgradeprocedure and configuration;

FIG. 7 is a view showing an embodiment of a procedure and configurationrelated to a diagnosis or monitoring management service;

FIG. 8 is a view showing an embodiment of a procedure and configurationfor communication connection of a home appliance;

FIG. 9 is a view showing another embodiment of a procedure andconfiguration for communication connection of a home appliance;

FIG. 10 is a view showing an embodiment of an initial screen of adisplay unit of a home appliance;

FIG. 11 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance in a Wi-Fi setup mode;

FIG. 12 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of an externalterminal when the external terminal access a setup mode;

FIG. 13 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance when an external terminal access a setup mode;

FIG. 14 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance when a setup mode is ended;

FIG. 15 is a view showing an embodiment of an initial screen for remotemanagement of a home appliance through an external terminal;

FIG. 16 is a view showing an embodiment of a login screen of an externalterminal;

FIG. 17 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen in a case in which ahome appliance is not registered with a server;

FIG. 18 is a view showing a control panel of a home appliance accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance to set or cancel remote control activation in the homeappliance;

FIG. 20 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen displaying a statein which remote control activation is set;

FIG. 21 is a view showing a communication flow among an externalterminal for remote control, a server, and a home appliance;

FIG. 22 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of an externalterminal in a state in which remote control is not possible;

FIG. 23 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of an externalterminal in a remote control ready state;

FIG. 24 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance notifying of start of washing through remote control;

FIG. 25 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance displaying an operation state of the home appliance;

FIG. 26 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of an externalterminal displaying an operation state of a home appliance;

FIG. 27 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of an externalterminal displaying a pause state of a home appliance;

FIG. 28 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance displaying a pause state of the home appliance;

FIG. 29 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of an externalterminal displaying a scheduled operation state of a home appliance;

FIG. 30 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance displaying a scheduled operation state of the homeappliance;

FIG. 31 is a view showing a screen when a scheduled operation time ischanged on the screen of FIG. 29;

FIG. 32 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance after a scheduled operation time is changed;

FIG. 33 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance displaying a state in which a wrinkle preventionfunction is set;

FIG. 34 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance displaying completion of operation of the homeappliance; and

FIG. 35 is a view showing an embodiment of a screen of a display unit ofa home appliance displaying a state in which a wrinkle preventionfunction is executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an embodiment of an online system, which mayimplement the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 2 schematicallyshows an overall configuration in which home appliances located in eachhouse are communication connected to a server such that the homeappliances are managed by the server.

In order to perform a remote service, a server 10 to manage all homeappliances to be served is needed. Home appliances 20 and 21 to beserved are communication connected to the server 10 to perform a commandreceived from the server 10. Service request may be received by theserver 10 through the home appliance 20. In addition, in order toreceive service request from a user through a means other than the homeappliance, an additional means, such as an Internet site (hereinafter,referred to as a “user site”) 60 (see FIG. 4), an external terminal, ora user terminal 40, may be provided. Concrete examples of a remoteservice will hereinafter be described.

The external terminal or the user terminal 40 means a device, such as amobile phone, a smartphone, a laptop computer, or a personal computer,which is provided separately from the home appliance or the server. Inaddition, the external terminal or the user terminal 40 means a devicehaving a communication module to communicate with external devices.

A business owner who performs management of a home appliance or providesa service through the home appliance may provide a remote servicethrough establishment of the server. As needed, the business owner mayestablish the user site.

A user may purchase a home appliance 20, with respect to which the usercan receive a remote service from the server 10, and may receive such aremote service. This home appliance may be a product having acommunication module to communicate with the server 10 and a client sideprotocol to execute a command received from the server 10. For anexisting appliance, with respect to which the user cannot receive aservice from the server, on the other hand, an additional deviceincluding the communication module and the client side protocol may beused. The user may purchase such an additional device and connect theadditional device to the existing appliance such that the user mayreceive a service with respect to the existing appliance.

In a case in which the home appliance 20 needs a remote service from theserver 10, a unique device identification (ID) of the home appliance 20may be registered with the server 10 such that the home appliance 20 canbe managed by the server 10.

When the home appliance 20 accesses the server 10, the server 10 mayspecify the home appliance 20 based on a device ID. In addition to thedevice ID, property information (for example, appliance type, modelinformation, etc.) of the corresponding home appliance may be registeredwith the server 10. The device ID may be configured irrespective of theproperty information, such as appliance type or model information, ofthe product. Alternatively, the device ID may be coded together with theproperty information of the product. Consequently, the server 10 mayrecognize appliance type or model information using the device ID alone.

The user may request a service through the home appliance 20 registeredwith the server 10 to receive the service with respect to the homeappliance 20. For example, when the user selects and inputs a desiredservice through a display window (display unit) of a refrigerator 21,the refrigerator 21 may request the corresponding service from theserver 10.

Meanwhile, in many cases, home appliances, such as a washing machine, acleaner, an oven, an air conditioner, and a water purifier, are notalways located in the vicinity of the user. For example, the homeappliances may be located in the house and the user may be in theoffice. In this case, it may not be easy for the user to request thecorresponding service from the server 10 through the home appliance 20.In addition, in many cases, the home appliances may not be provided withdevices to allow input of a variety of information or to display avariety of information. For this reason, the user may request theservice from the server through the external terminal 40, such as asmartphone, which the user always carries. To this end, an applicationfor requesting such a service may be installed in the external terminal40. The external terminal 40, such as the smartphone, may be providedwith devices to allow input of a variety of information or display avariety of information such that the user may very conveniently requestsuch a service.

In addition, as will hereinafter be described, it is possible to performremote management, remote control, remote monitoring, and remotediagnosis of the home appliances through such applications. Thesefunctions may be examples of the remote service.

In this case, the external terminal 40 directly communicates with theserver 10 and the server 10 communicates with the home appliances 21 and22. Consequently, the user may request a remote service through theexternal terminal 40 and easily confirm execution and completion of theservice through the external terminal 40.

It is necessary for the external terminal 40 not to directly communicatewith the home appliance. This is because, to this end, the homeappliance requires additional hardware or software for communicationwith the external terminal 40. In addition, a communication environmentof the external terminal 40 may be less stable than that of the homeappliance. This is because the external terminal 40 is easily movable.

On the other hand, the home appliance is generally used in a state inwhich the home appliance is fixed in a building. For this reason, thehome appliance may stably communicate with the server through an accesspoint (AP) in the building. Consequently, the external terminal mayindirectly communicate with the home appliance via the server. As aresult, it is possible to restrain the increase in cost of the homeappliance and to stably and continuously provide a remote controlservice.

In order to request and perform such a service, however, it is necessaryto specify a relationship among the external terminal 40 of the user,the home appliance 20 which needs a service, and the server 10. That is,in a case in which accessing the server 10 is performed through the homeappliance 20, assessing the server 10 is performed through the ID of thehome appliance and thus it is possible for the server to easily specifyan object for a service. In a case in which accessing the server 10 isnot performed through the home appliance 20, however, it is necessary todecide how the server specifies an object for a service.

This is because the server 10 does not provide a remote service only toa specific user and a home appliance of the specific user but maytheoretically provide such a remote service to all home appliances thatcan receive the remote service.

For example, the user may access a user site 60 (see FIG. 4) and input aunique device ID of a home appliance for a service to request theservice. The user may join the user site as a member to receive a userID and a password. The user may log in the user site to register allhome appliances owned by the user. The home appliances registered withthe user site may be registered with the server together with thecorresponding user ID. This may be achieved by automaticallytransmitting the user ID and the device IDs of all of the homeappliances matched with the user ID from the user site to the server.Through these procedures, the server stores user information related tothe user and home appliance information related to the home appliances.Of course, the user information and the home appliance information arestored in the server in a state in which the user information and thehome appliance information are matched with each other.

On the other hand, the user may join the user site through theapplication installed in the external terminal 40 to receive a user IDand a password. Even in this case, the user may log in the user site toregister all home appliances owned by the user. The application may beprovided for a remote service of a specific home appliance or for aremote service of a plurality of home appliances, which will hereinafterbe described in detail.

In addition, as previously described, the user may log in the user siteto register user information including the user ID and password with theserver. The user may directly register the home appliance with theserver from the home appliance through such user information. That is,the home appliance may be registered with the server through the homeappliance. The home appliance may have an address of the server and anaddress of the user site. The home appliance transmits the userinformation and the home appliance information to the server such thatcommunication between the home appliance and the server is initiated. Atthis time, the server matches the home appliance with the user.

As a result, the server may confirm that a specific user has a specifichome appliance and where the specific home appliance is installed.

Registration with the server 10 through the home appliance 20 will bedescribed in more detail through an activation procedure, which willhereinafter be described.

In any cases, in a case in which a user receives a user ID, the user IDmay be registered with the server 10 together with home applianceinformation of the user, i.e. unique device information, such as adevice ID, such that the user information and the home applianceinformation are managed. The user information and the home applianceinformation are matched with each other. Consequently, one may bespecified through the other.

The service received from the user through the user site, the externalterminal 40, or the home appliance 20 may be performed by anadministrator transmitting a command for a corresponding managementservice to the server 10. Alternatively, the user site, the externalterminal, or the home appliance may directly communicate with the serverthrough an open API of the server to directly request a managementservice from the server.

The server 10 has a server side protocol for a management service. Theserver side protocol is linked with a client side management protocol ofa home appliance to perform a requested remote service.

An open mobile alliance device management (OMA DM) protocol may be usedas a protocol to perform such a management service between the server 10and the home appliance 20. In a case in which the OMA DM protocol isused, therefore, the server side may be a DM server and the homeappliance side may be a DM client. Of course, another protocol may beused in addition to the OMA DM protocol. In this embodiment, the OMA DMprotocol is used; however, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The server may be divided into a plurality of servers according toduties thereof. FIG. 2 exemplarily shows that the server 10 is dividedinto a DM server, a notification server, a DL server, an ONM server, anda legacy server. In a case in which the server is divided into aplurality of servers according to duties thereof, therefore, when aspecific service is performed, the DM server may prepare for or performanother service. Consequently, it is possible to simultaneously processa plurality of services.

The servers may directly access objects in performing their duties.

Some of the servers may be configured to directly access home appliancesfor a service. For example, the notification server may directlytransmit notification to a home appliance for a service and the DLserver may directly transmit ungraded firmware to a home appliance for aservice.

The server 10 may be configured differently according to the details ofa management service. For example, in a case in which only firmwareupdate will be provided as a service, the service may be performed bythe DM server, the notification server, and the DL server. Consequently,the other server may not be needed. On the other hand, in a case inwhich a service is performed without a notification procedure ofnotifying a user of firmware update, even the notification server maynot be needed.

In this embodiment, firmware update, software (including various kindsof content) management, home appliance diagnosis, home appliancemonitoring, refrigerator expiry date notification, refrigerator foodlist provision, washing course upgrade, etc. are considered.Consequently, configuration of the server as shown in FIG. 2 is onlyillustrative and, therefore, the present invention is not limited to theconfiguration of the server as shown in FIG. 2.

Hereinafter, configuration and a communication environment of an onlinesystem will be described in more detail. All of the following detailsmay not be essential to the present invention. In addition, the onlinesystem may further have configuration added through description in otherparts of the specification.

(1) The Server May Have the Following Configuration.

1) DM Server

The DM server serves to issue a management command to the DM client.That is, the DM server provides a management function of remotelyprocessing a firmware update (modem firmware/OS) management task, asoftware management task, a diagnostic management task, etc. through themanagement command. The DM server may include a session managementregion, a security management region, a DM protocol process region, anda SyncML protocol engine region.

2) DL Server

The DL server transmits a file to a DL client. That is, the DL servertransmits information regarding a file for transmission through adownload descriptor (DD) such that the DL client correctly downloads thefile. The DL client is a home appliance which downloads the file. Amongfiles downloaded in this manner, there are a firmware update package anda software management package. The DL server may include a sessionmanagement region, a package management region, and a download region.

3) ONM Server or User Portal

The ONM server serves to interface with the DM or DL server and thelegacy server and implements a business logic. The administrator mayissue a management command or refer to management information through amanagement web page of the ONM server.

The user portal provides some of the functions of the ONM server to ageneral user, which is implemented through the open API of the DMServer. The user may request a management service from the DM serverthrough the user portal.

4) Legacy Server

Representative legacy servers, with which the ONM server is linked,include a server to receive terminal information and a server to receiveuser information. That is, the legacy server transmits the userinformation or the home appliance information to the ONM server toprovide information necessary to implement the business logic.

5) Notification Server

The notification server transmits a notification message from the DMserver to the home appliance. The notification server may include asession generation region and a schedule management region.

If the home appliance is located on a private network, a connectionmanager specially provided to a server side may be required in order tomaintain connection to the home appliance. After the home appliance isbooted, the home appliance may request a TCP connection and theconnection manager maintains the requested TCP connection. The DM servertransmits the notification message therethrough.

6) Open API

An application in a mobile communication terminal, such as a smartphone,may remotely manage the home appliances through an open API provided bythe DM Server. The Open API will hereinafter be described in detail.

(2) The Home Appliance May Include the Following Configuration.

1) Communication Module

The communication module is installed in the home appliance. Type of thecommunication module is not particularly restricted. The communicationmodule may be a wired communication module or a wireless communicationmodule.

For example, the communication module may be a communication module inwhich Wi-Fi is available or a communication module in which PLCcommunication or ZigBee communication is available.

2) DM Client

The DM client serves to execute a management command from the DM Server.That is, the DM client provides management functions of remotelyprocessing the firmware update management task, the software managementtask, the diagnosis management task, and the control management taskaccording to the management command from the DM server.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example in which the DM client is providedin a home appliance. In a case of a home appliance having a thin filmtransistor (TFT) display provided therein, the DM client may be mountedin a circuit board (display board) of the TFT display. In FIG. 3, a mainboard is a circuit board to carry out original functions of the homeappliance. For example, a washing machine may generally have a maincontroller provided in a main board to control a water supply valve anda motor connected to a drum in order to carry out washing.

Although the DM client may be mounted in the main board of the homeappliance, the DM client may be mounted in a display board because adisplay window may be used frequently to request the management service.

3) DL Client

The DL client mainly serves to download a package file (firmware updatepackage, software management package, etc.) from the DL server. The DLclient receives a download server URL from the DM client, accesses adownload server to acquire a download descriptor (DD), and carries out adownload task.

4) Agent

The agent serves to carry out a management service command requested bythe home appliance according to the details of the management service.For example, an update agent serves to produce new firmware using anupdate package downloaded for firmware update. The update agent may beimplemented in a variety of forms by manufacturers.

5) Daemon

The daemon may serve to process periodic access of the home appliance tothe server. The daemon may be continuously running as long as the homeappliance is plugged. For example, even if power of the washing machineis in an off state, the daemon may be maintained in an on state as longas the washing machine is plugged. If it is necessary to power thewashing machine on according to request of the server, the daemon maytransmit a power on command to the main board.

6) User Interface (UI)

User permission may be required to carry out the management service. Inaddition, the user may request the management service through the homeappliance. A TFT liquid crystal display (LCD) window of the homeappliance may be used as the user interface. In particular, the userinterface may be provided through a touch LCD or a light emitting diode(LED) display. A display screen may be provided such that a screen forthe management service is displayed on the display screen in a pop upfashion. Such a management service screen may be provided to allow ofinput of a user ID and a password. The user ID and password may be theuser ID and password given at the time of joining the user site as amember. A server system may identify the user using the user ID andpassword. When a service is requested through a terminal, the terminalmay transmit the user ID and password, the device ID, and servicerequest information to the server system.

However, the user interface is not provided in all home appliances. Thisis because implementing interfaces for additional management services inaddition to the user interface required to carry out original functionsof each home appliance may require a great deal of expense and space.

For example, implementing a means to input text or the like or a displayunit to display a large amount of information may not be easy for homeappliances, such as a laundry machine, an air conditioner, a cleaner,and an oven.

In order to carry out the management service of the home appliance,therefore, an external terminal, such as a smartphone, may be needed.This is because the external terminal, such as the smartphone, has acommunication module, a memory, OS, an input means, and a display unit.In recent years, external terminals equipped with the touch LCD or LEDhave come into widespread use. Therefore, limitations on the userinterface of the home appliance may be supplemented or extended by theexternal terminal. Detailed examples will hereinafter be described.

(3) Hereinafter, a Communication Environment Between the Home Applianceand the Server Will be Described.

Basically, type of the communication environment is not particularlyrestricted as long as the communication environment is suitable forcarrying out the management service.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example in which the home appliance 20,having a wireless Internet communication module applied thereto,communicates with the server 10 via the Internet through an access point(AP) 30.

Upon reviewing a communication path starting from the home appliance 20to the server 10, the communication path after the AP is a publicInternet network and the communication path before the AP is a privateInternet network. The home appliances 21 and 22 receive private IPs fromthe AP 30 and the AP 30 has a unique IP.

The server 10 also has an IP, which may be a unique IP. Therefore, acommunication module, such as a Wi-Fi module, of the home appliance mayhave the unique IP of the server. Through an activation procedure, thehome appliance may access the server using the IP of the server suchthat communication between the home appliance and the server isperformed.

Subsequently, in order for the server 10 to recognize the location ofthe home appliance 20 and to track the location of the home appliance20, the DM client may continuously transmit signals to the DM Server.The AP 30 transmits information of a port to which the home appliance isconnected and the unique IP information of the AP 30 to the DM Server.As a result, the DM Server can recognize the location of the DM client.Of course, the home appliance may also transmit information of the AP30, and information of the port connected to the AP 30 to the server 10through the AP. When the home appliance 20 transmits the device IDinformation together with above information to the server, therefore,the server system can recognize which home appliance is at whichlocation and may access the home appliance using the information. Atthis time, the user ID and password may also be transmitted togetherwith above information.

As a result, the server 10 can recognize the location of a specific homeappliance 20 of a specific user. When a specific service is requestedfrom the server through the home appliance or the external terminal ofthe user, therefore, the server may easily determine a specific homeappliance and carry out the specific service with respect to thespecific home appliance.

(4) Administrator Portal

Although the administrator portal is not an essential element, theadministrator portal may enable the administrator to effectively carryout the management task. For example, in a case of the firmware update,an administrator who updates and registers the firmware and anadministrator who verifies the registered firmware update file maycooperate with each other through the administrator portal. Theadministrator portal may include a firmware upgrade process region, asoftware upgrade process region, a device management region, a systemadministration region, and a statistics region.

Hereinafter, details and procedures of the management service will bedescribed.

(1) Member Joining and Activation of Home Appliance

FIG. 4 is a view showing member joining and activation of a homeappliance.

As previously described, a user may join the user site 60 as a member toreceive a user ID and a password.

The home appliance activation may be a procedure of registering the homeappliance 20 of the user with the server 10. A display screen of thehome appliance may have a pop up window which enables the user to inputthe user ID, the password, etc. The user may carry out the activationprocedure through the screen. When the user inputs the user ID andpassword to the screen and inputs an activation command, the homeappliance transmits the user ID, the password, the device ID, and thecharacteristic information of the home appliance to the user site 60. Atthis time, the home appliance 20 may store the input user ID and theinput password. The user ID and password may be used for userauthentication.

The device ID may be previously input into the home appliance.Alternatively, the device ID may be automatically generated in the homeappliance when the activation procedure is carried out. Otherwise, thedevice ID may be automatically generated when the home appliance isfirst purchased and powered on for the first time.

The characteristic information of the home appliance may include modelinformation, a product code, a manufactured date, and a manufacturedproduct number of the home appliance.

In addition, in the activation procedure, the home appliance maytransmit the password of the home appliance, the service URL, and theserver ID and password. Of the information transmitted to the user site60 in the activation procedure, the information excluding the user IDand password may be automatically generated in the home appliance 20 orpreviously input in the home appliance 20.

Through the activation procedure, the user site 60 may receive theinformation from the home appliance 20. The user site registers homeappliances corresponding to the user ID. Consequently, home appliances20 may be registered with the user site per user ID.

Subsequently, the user site 60 transmits the user ID, the password, thedevice ID, and the characteristic information regarding the homeappliance to the server 10. At this time, the ID and password of theserver may also be transmitted.

The server 10 performs authentication of the transmitted informationfirst. When authentication is successful, the user ID, the password, thedevice ID, and the characteristic information of the product areregistered with the server. At this time, the password of the device mayalso be transmitted.

The activation procedure may be performed regardless of place under acommunication environment in which accessing the server and the usersite is possible. For example, a seller from whom the user has bought aproduct may carry out the activation procedure for the user.

(2) User Service Request

The user may request a service on a display screen of the home applianceintended to have the service provided thereto. For example, after a popup window for a desired service is displayed on the display screen ofthe home appliance 20, the user ID and password may be input and thenthe service request may be carried out. At this time, the home appliancemay also transmit the user ID, the password, and the device ID togetherin addition to the information regarding the service request.

In addition, the user may also request the desired service through theuser site 60. The user site may have a web page provided for the user torequest a management service and the user may also request the desiredmanagement service at the web page. Upon reception of the servicerequest from the user, the user site may transmit information regardingthe service request to the server system. At this time, the user ID, thepassword, and the device ID may also be transmitted.

In addition, the user may call a client call center to make the servicerequest. The client call center may be configured to receive themanagement service through an automatic response system (ARS).

Meanwhile, the service request may be made through a mobilecommunication terminal (external terminal), such as a smartphone. FIG.5(a) is a view exemplarily showing an example in which a smartphoneapplication for the management service is downloaded. FIG. 5(b) is aview exemplarily showing an example in which the service request is madethrough the smartphone (external terminal), the client call center, orthe home appliance.

In a case in which the service request is made through the smartphone,the user may put the management service application installed in thesmartphone into operation, input the user ID and password, and requestthe service. The smartphone may transmit information regarding theservice request to the server system. At this time, the user ID, thepassword, and the device ID may also be transmitted.

Upon requesting the remote service for the home appliance from the DMserver using various methods, the DM server carries out the remoteservice for the home appliance. Upon completion of the remote service,the home appliance notifies the DM server of completion of the remoteservice. In a case in which the service request is made through theexternal terminal instead of the home appliance, the DM server notifiescompletion of the remote service to the external terminal.

Consequently, the user may request the remote service of the homeappliance and confirm the result of the remote request through theexternal terminal, not through the home appliance.

(3) Remote Control of Home Appliance (Product Control)

A product may be remotely controlled. The control management may beinitiated by the DM server and may be operated in the background.Consequently, interaction with the user through an MMI and occurrence ofan interrupt may not be considered.

For a refrigerator, a refrigerating chamber temperature, a freezingchamber temperature, an adjustable room temperature or mode (frozen foodmode, meat mode, vegetable mode, etc.), express freezing control(including on/off), refrigerator operation mode control (general mode,test mode, LQC mode, display mode, smart diagnosis mode, etc.), anddispenser control (crushed ice mode, water mode, cube ice mode, etc.)may be included as control items.

For a washing machine, power on/off, operation, and stop may be includedas control items. In addition, schedule change, washing courseselection, washing course option selection, and steam selection may alsobe included as control items. Moreover, a wrinkle prevention functionmay be carried out after completion of the washing course. Such controlmanagement may be performed through the DM server via the open API usingthe smartphone application.

A control management procedure, which will hereinafter be described indetail, is shown in FIG. 6.

1. Inquiry of control items/request to execute the control items: Theadministrator (or the user) requests a task for inquiry of controlitems/request to execution of the control items from the ONM serverusing a management screen of the ONM server.

2. Task registration and notification request: The ONM server requeststhe control/operation task and notification of the same to the homeappliance through a notification message from the DM server.

3. Notification request: The DM server requests notification of aproduct from the notification server.

4. Notification message transmission: The notification server transmitsa notification message to the home appliance.

5. Performance of control task: The home appliance receives thenotification message from the DM Server, accesses the DM Server, andperforms the control task.

The DM client of the home appliance is linked with the DM server usingthe OMA DM protocol and the DM client of the home appliance is linkedwith the control agent to perform control management.

The control management may be initiated by the DM server. The DM sessionmode may be executed in the background. The DM client starts to performthe control management upon reception of the notification message fromthe DM server.

(4) Diagnosis

Diagnosis is a service for diagnosing the home appliance. For example,when a washing machine appears to have malfunctioned, the user mayrequest a diagnosis service. Upon reception of a diagnosis command, thewashing machine may execute a diagnosis program to collect datanecessary for diagnosis.

The home appliance may collect event data or log data during normaloperation. Such data may be utilized as diagnosis data. That is, thediagnosis data may be collected even if there is no diagnosis request.For example, if the drum of the washing machine does not rotate, suchevent data may be recorded and conserved. In a case in which a diagnosisrequest is present, therefore, the washing machine may drive thediagnosis program together with the collected and recorded data totransmit the collected data to the server system.

For a washing machine, the diagnosis data may include data regarding anet acting ratio of a motor, data regarding power applied to the washingmachine, data regarding temperature in a tub or a drum, data regardingoperation of a water supply valve, and data regarding operation of adrainage valve.

For a refrigerator, on the other hand, the diagnosis data may includedata regarding operation of a cooling fan, data regarding temperature ofa refrigerating chamber or a freezing chamber, data regarding operationof a compressor, data regarding operation of various valves, such as anexpansion valve, and data regarding operation of an ice maker.

In addition, the diagnosis data may include data regarding operation ofthe display unit or the input unit corresponding to the user interfaceand data regarding operation of a water level sensor (for the washingmachine) and different temperature sensors (for example, a sensor tosense temperature in the tub of the washing machine and a sensor tosense temperature in the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamberof the refrigerator).

The diagnosis data may include information regarding a command executiontime and a data generation time. Such diagnosis data may be transmittedto the server and the server may execute an analysis program to providea result of diagnosis.

The diagnosis request may be made through the smartphone. Alternatively,the client center may access the server system to make the diagnosisrequest upon user request to the client center. In addition, in a casein which an error occurs in the home appliance, error information may betransmitted to the server such that the diagnosis is performed.

The open API interface for the diagnosis may be designed to provide astart interface only. As a result, interruption of the diagnosis afterstart of the diagnosis may not be provided.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a diagnosis procedure, which will hereinafterbe described. Since the diagnosis procedure may be the same as amonitoring procedure, which will hereinafter be described, themonitoring procedure is also shown in FIG. 7.

1. Diagnosis/monitoring setup request: The administrator (or the user)requests conditions and start of the diagnosis/monitoring using amanagement screen of the diagnosis server.

2. Task registration and notification request: The management serverrequests the conditions and the start of the diagnosis/monitoring andnotification from the DM server.

3. Notification request: The DM server requests the notification serverto notify the terminal.

4. Notification message transmission: The notification server transmitsa notification message to the terminal.

5. Diagnosis/monitoring setup: The DM server requests the conditions andthe start of the diagnosis/monitoring from the DM client.

6. Diagnosis/monitoring result notification/inquiry of data: Uponcompletion of the diagnosis/monitoring, the DM client (DiagMonAgent) ofthe terminal notifies the DM server of a result of thediagnosis/monitoring (alert message).

The diagnosis/monitoring management may be performed by the DM server orthe user and the DM session mode may be executed in the background.

In a case in which the diagnosis/monitoring management is performed bythe DM server, the DM client starts to perform the diagnosis/monitoringupon reception of the notification message from the DM server. On theother hand, in a case in which the diagnosis/monitoring management isperformed by the user, the user starts to perform thediagnosis/monitoring on a screen of the home appliance and the homeappliance executes the DM client after completion of thediagnosis/monitoring.

On the other hand, another embodiment for carrying out the diagnosiswill hereinafter be described. This embodiment is related to usertransmission of operation sound or diagnosis sound generated in the homeappliance to the server. For example, the user may transmit theoperation sound generated during operation of the home appliance or thediagnosis sound for diagnosing the home appliance to the server systemthrough the mobile communication terminal. The server system may analyzethe operation sound or the diagnosis sound to diagnose the homeappliance. The user may transmit the operation sound or the diagnosissound to the server system using a variety of methods. For example, whenthe user places a telephone call to the service center and transmits theoperation sound or the diagnosis sound of the home appliance through areceiver of the mobile communication terminal, the service center maytransmit the operation sound or the diagnosis sound to the server.

The service center may be provided with an ARS system for automatictransmission of the operation sound or the diagnosis sound. In addition,the user may use a mobile communication terminal (for example, asmartphone) having a diagnosis program installed therein. That is, itmay be possible for the user to transmit the diagnosis sound to theserver using the diagnosis program installed in the mobile communicationterminal. At this time, the diagnosis sound may be directly transmittedto the server. Alternatively, the user site may transmit the diagnosissound to the server upon reception of the diagnosis sound from the user.

The server system may have a program for analysis and diagnosis of theoperation sound. The program may analyze the diagnosis sound data toconvert the data into error code or state information. The server systemmay transmit a result of such diagnosis to the mobile communicationterminal of the user or the home appliance.

(5) Monitoring

Monitoring is a service related to monitoring of the home appliance.Upon reception of a monitoring request, the home appliance may transmitmonitoring data to the server system.

For example, upon requesting monitoring data from a washing machine, thewashing machine may execute a monitoring program to collect themonitoring data, and transmit the collected monitoring data to theserver. At this time, the monitoring data may include informationregarding a monitoring command execution time, and a monitoring datageneration time. In addition, upon requesting the performance ofmonitoring, the monitoring data may be repeatedly transmitted after themonitoring is initiated.

For a refrigerator, monitoring items may include an express freezingstate, a hygiene filter state (for example, whether the hygiene filterstate is on or off), a refrigerator operation mode, a dispenser state,an error state, a door open/closed state. For a washing machine,monitoring items may include an operation state, a remaining time of acourse under operation, an initial set time, type of a washing course, arinsing level, a spin-drying RPM, a temperature set for carrying out thecourse, and a scheduled washing time.

The monitoring service may be requested through the external terminal,such as the smartphone, and a result of the request may be inquired. Theopen API interface for monitoring may be designed to provide both startand end interfaces. The monitoring procedure may be the same as shown inFIG. 7.

As stated above, an embodiment of a home appliance, which may implementthe present invention, and an online system including the same have beendescribed with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7.

Hereinafter, a home appliance communication connection method and aconfiguration for the same will be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 8 and 9.

Ultimately, the home appliance 20 is required to communicate with theserver 10. To this end, the home appliance 20 is required to communicatewith an AP 30 installed in a house first. For this reason, the homeappliance 20 is required to have a communication module equipped thereinor connected thereto. Specifically, the communication module may be aWi-Fi communication module 25.

First, the home appliance 20 is powered on through a power selectionunit 140 provided at a control panel 100 of the home appliance 20. Atthis time, the Wi-Fi communication module 25 is also powered on.

As shown in FIG. 8, the control panel 100 may be provided with a statedisplay unit 130. The state display unit 130 may be a touch display. Thetouch display may display all states of the home appliance such thatoperations and conditions may be selected by touching the touch display.In addition, text or numbers may be input through the touch display. Inthis case, a keypad may be displayed on the touch display such that auser may perform such input through the keypad.

Consequently, other input means or display means excluding the powerbutton 140 to power the home appliance on and the touch display 130 maybe omitted from the control panel 100. Of course, the power button 140may be implemented to be input by touch like the touch display 130. Dueto functionality of the touch display, the user may easily communicationconnect the home appliance to the server.

In the home appliance, particularly a laundry machine, a user interfacethrough the touchscreen type state display unit 130 as shown in FIG. 8may not be generally implemented. That is, the user interface as shownin FIG. 1 may be generally implemented.

As shown in FIG. 1, many of the home appliances have no interface toallow input of text or no display unit to display a variety of screens.For this reason, the home appliance 20 may not easily communicate withthe AP 30.

Communication connection of the home appliance having the user interfaceas shown in FIG. 1 may be performed as shown in FIG. 9.

For communication connection of the home appliance, the Wi-Ficommunication module 25 may support a setup mode for the communicationconnection and a use mode which enables communication. That is, thesetup mode may be performed for communication connection of Wi-Ficommunication module 25 and, when the Wi-Fi communication module 25 iscommunication connected in the setup mode, switching to the use mode isperformed. For communication connection, therefore, the setup mode ofthe Wi-Fi communication module 25 is performed first.

The setup mode is a mode in which communication with the AP is possible.Consequently, the setup mode may be referred to as an AP mode. On theother hand, the use mode is a state in which the home appliance cancommunicate with the server through the AP, enabling transmission andreception of information to carry out the remote management servicewhenever required. That is, the use mode may be a standby state forcarrying out the remote service. Accordingly, the use mode may bereferred to as a connection mode or a standby mode.

In order to execute the setup mode, an input means may be provided atthe Wi-Fi communication module 25. In many cases, however, the Wi-Ficommunication module 25 may be mounted in the home appliance 20 orconfigured in a simple form such that the Wi-Fi communication module 25may be equipped in the home appliance 20. Therefore, the input means maybe provided at the home appliance.

As shown in FIG. 1, however, it is not easy to provide such an inputmeans only for such a function at the control panel 100. This is becauseprovision of an input means only for selection of a specific functionmay not be required for mass production. Furthermore, this is becausecarrying out the remote management service through the communicationconnection may not be an original function of the home appliance but anadditional function of the home appliance, i.e. an option which may beadded or omitted as necessary. Therefore, the setup mode may be operatedby user selection of a specific input unit from among previouslyprovided input means.

For example, the control panel 100 may be provided with a scheduledoperation button 123. The user may select a washing course finishingtime point while pushing the scheduled operation button 123. Forexample, the scheduled operation button 123 may be selected to finishthe washing course after four hours. The control unit (for example, themain board shown in FIG. 3) of the washing machine may control operationof the washing machine such that, in a case in which a washing coursetakes two hours, the operation stops for two hours and, after two hours,the washing course is carried out.

The scheduled operation button may have a frequency of use lower thanother input units. Therefore, the setup mode may be executed using thescheduled operation button. In this case, input methods of the scheduledoperation button may differ. For example, a time to push the scheduledoperation button may be changed to select any one from between anoriginal scheduled operation function and a setup mode execution. Thatis, different functions may be selected depending on a button push timeusing one button.

As previously described, the Wi-Fi communication module may be operatedin the setup mode by selecting a specific input unit, For example bypushing the scheduled operation button for 3 seconds or more. However,an additional setup means, such as a means for displaying or inputtingnetwork information that can be associated with the user information,may not be provided at the home appliance 20.

Therefore, the setup mode may be accessible through the externalterminal. The external terminal may be a device including a Wi-Ficommunication module, a text input means, a display means, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), an operating system (OS), and a storage means.For example, the external terminal may be a laptop computer or asmartphone.

The external terminal may be provided to enable the Wi-Fi communicationmodule to access the AP 30 instead of the Wi-Fi communication module orthe home appliance. In the setup mode, therefore, information regardinga Service Set Identifier (SSID; name of a wireless LAN) of an accesspoint (AP) 30 and user information for registration of the homeappliance are received through the external terminal 40.

Accessible SSIDs are displayed on the external terminal 40 and the userselects an SSID which can be continuously connected, for example an SSIDused in a house. In a case in which a wireless LAN has security enabled,the external terminal is required to select the SSID as well as to inputa password thereof. Therefore, the SSID information may include an SSIDpassword.

Upon reception of the user information and the SSID information, theWi-Fi communication module is switched to the use mode. When the userinformation and the SSID information are input, the user information andthe SSID information may be automatically stored in the communicationmodule. Afterwards, therefore, the communication module may continuouslyperform communication without execution of an additional setup mode.That is, the communication module automatically accesses the AP in theuse mode using such information. Accordingly, the home appliance 20 mayperform wireless LAN communication with the specific AP 30. That is, ashort range communication is possible.

Meanwhile, the communication module has an address of the server 10 thatthe communication module intends to access or an address of the usersite. The server address or the user site address may be a fixed IP. Inthe use mode, therefore, the home appliance 20 may communicate with theserver 10 through the AP 30. At the time of switching to the use mode,therefore, the user information and the product information previouslystored in the home appliance may be automatically registered with theserver 10 through the AP. The user site may be used to authenticate theuser information and the product information transmitted to the homeappliance.

The user information may be information previously stored in the server10 through the user site. Accordingly, the server 10 compares the userinformation and the product information previously stored in the server10 through the user site 60 with the information received at the time ofswitching to the use mode and stores a result of comparison. As aresult, the server 10 recognizes a specific user and a specific homeappliance of the specific user. In particular, the server 10 mayrecognize the location of the specific home appliance.

Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi communication module 25 has a fixed address for thesetup mode execution. Through input of the fixed address, the externalterminal 40, such as the smartphone or the laptop computer, may accessthe setup mode. That is, the external terminal 40 may access a web of aWi-Fi modem setup mode of the home appliance. For example, the fixedaddress may be designated in the form of 192.1.xx.xx. The externalterminal 40 accessing the setup mode means that the input means and thedisplay means of the communication module 25 can be extended using theexternal terminal 40.

Upon accessing the web of the setup mode, a product registration page(for example, FIG. 12) is displayed and the user may register theproduct with the server by inputting required information through theproduct registration page.

Consequently, the user may easily switch the mode of the communicationmodule 25 from the setup mode to the use mode through the externalterminal 40. This means that such switching can be achieved withoutaddition of hardware, such as an additional input unit or an additionaldisplay unit, to the home appliance 20 or modification of the homeappliance 20. In addition, the use of the separately provided externalterminal 40 may prevent the increase in cost of the home appliance.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, the home appliance 20 may include a statedisplay unit 130. Consequently, the user may easily recognize accessingthe setup mode and switching to the use mode through the state displayunit 130, which will hereinafter be described.

Upon pushing the power selection unit 140, the state display unit 130may display a guide message for selection of a washing course as shownin FIG. 10. That is, the home appliance displays a guide messagerequesting user selection. Of course, such a guide message may be amessage initially displayed upon application of power. In other words,such a guide message may be a message displayed on an initial screen.

Subsequently, upon execution of the setup mode, the state display unit130 may display that the Wi-Fi setup mode is being executed as shown inFIG. 11. As previously described, execution of the setup mode may becarried out by selection of a specific selection unit. For example, thesetup mode may be executed by pushing the scheduled operation button 123for 3 seconds or more. The user may clearly recognize through the statedisplay unit 130 that an operation corresponding to a command is beingcarried out.

In addition, at least one selected from between the fixed address foraccessing the setup mode and information regarding the SSID to beconnected may be displayed on the state display unit 130 in the setupmode. Therefore, the user may easily input the fixed address to theexternal terminal 40 or access the SSID of the communication modulethrough the external terminal 40.

An example of a screen on which the setup mode is accessed by inputtingthe fixed address to the external terminal 40 is shown in FIG. 12.Specifically, FIG. 12 shows a screen on which the user AP, i.e. the SSIDinformation (SSID name and/or SSID password) for access, and the user IDand password can be input.

The user ID and password may be information previously set through theuser site 60. When such information is input, therefore, the homeappliance 20 is registered with the server 10.

The external terminal 40 may access the web page of the setup mode onlyin a state in which the setup mode of the home appliance 20 isactivated. This is necessary in order that the home appliance that theuser intends to connect to the server is the home appliance that theuser actually wishes to connect.

Specifically, as the smartphone inputs the fixed address of thecommunication module of the home appliance 20 in a state in which thesetup mode of the home appliance 20 is activated, the communicationconnection between the smartphone and the home appliance may beperformed. Accordingly, the home appliance may receive user APinformation to be connected to the user information through thesmartphone and may be connected to the AP therethrough. When the homeappliance is connected to the AP, the home appliance is switched to theuser mode. At this time, the home appliance is normally registered withthe server through the authentication procedure at the server or theuser site.

In addition, the smartphone may directly access the communication moduleof the home appliance 20 in a state in which the setup mode of the homeappliance 20 is activated. That is, the smartphone may access the SSIDshown in FIG. 11. In other words, connection of the smartphone to theWi-Fi network (for example, ‘abcd’ shown in FIG. 11) of thecommunication module in the home appliance 20 may be possible. When theWi-Fi connection between the smartphone and the home appliance isperformed, the screen shown in FIG. 12, i.e. the setup mode web page,may be displayed on the smartphone, through which actual connection ofthe home appliance to the user AP in the house is possible.

Meanwhile, upon inputting the fixed address to the external terminal 40or inputting the user information and the AP information after theexternal terminal 40 accesses the Wi-Fi network of the home appliance20, a screen shown in FIG. 13 as an example may be displayed on thestate display unit 130 of the home appliance 20. The home appliance,particularly the Wi-Fi communication module 25, attempts to access theuser AP using the information received through the smartphone.Therefore, information that the Wi-Fi connection is being establishedmay be displayed on the state display unit 130

Under such Wi-Fi setup, the home appliance 20 may carry out mutualauthentication procedure with the server or the user site. Uponcompletion of the Wi-Fi setup, therefore, the home appliance may beregistered with the server directly or through the user site.

Upon completion of the Wi-Fi setup mode, the screen shown in FIG. 13 maybe switched to a frame shown in FIG. 14 as an example. That is,information that Wi-Fi setup has been ended is displayed and, inaddition, a Wi-Fi icon may be displayed. The Wi-Fi icon may becontinuously displayed as long as the communication connection isactive.

Through such processes, the user may easily register the home appliancewith the server and connect the home appliance to the server through theuser AP.

When a set time of, for example, three seconds, elapses, the screen ofFIG. 14 may be switched to the initial screen, i.e. the screen of FIG.10. Of course, the Wi-Fi icon 131 may be added to the screen of FIG. 10to indicate that Wi-Fi is under connection.

The user may easily and rapidly register the home appliance with theserver 10 based on such characteristics of the state display unit 130 ofthe home appliance and the Wi-Fi module in the home appliance such thatthe user may use a remote service afterwards. In a case in which suchcommunication connection is achieved, the communication connection maybe automatically performed when the home appliance is powered onafterwards.

Meanwhile, the external terminal 40 may be used not only as an auxiliarymeans for communication connection of the home appliance but also amanagement service for the home appliance may be easily performed usingthe external terminal 40. In the same manner, an extended input meansand display means of the external terminal 40 may be utilized.

For request of a remote service for the home appliance through theexternal terminal 40, the external terminal 40 may be provided with anapplication for requesting and carrying out at least one selected fromamong remote control, remote diagnosis, firmware or software update, andmonitoring of the home appliance 20.

When the application is initially executed, the user information istransmitted to the server and the external terminal communicates withthe home appliance corresponding to the user to perform the servicerequested by the home appliance. Meanwhile, the application may indicateproducts capable of utilizing a remote service. The application may beprovided such that products actually owned by the user are selected fromamong the products. In a case in which user's products have not beenregistered with the server, the products may be registered with theserver through the application.

Hereinafter, performance of a remote service, particularly remotecontrol, through the application will be described in detail.

Upon execution of the application, first, a screen shown in FIG. 15 asan example may be displayed on the external terminal. When the userpushes a remote control menu (smart remote control), a screen to log into the server is displayed. An example of the screen to log in to theserver is shown in FIG. 16. The user may access the server by selectinga country (server) and inputting a user ID and password, i.e. byselecting a login menu.

The server selection may be displayed only in a case in which any one isselected from among a plurality of servers. In addition, the screen maybe displayed for selection of a language to be used.

The login screen may be displayed only at initial login, and the loginscreen may be automatically displayed afterwards. However, since otherpersons may arbitrarily execute the application, login may be performedupon reception of at least the user password each time the applicationis executed.

After login, the server determines whether the user has been registeredwith the server. Upon determining that the user has not been registeredwith the server, the external terminal may display the user site forrequest of registration or may be directly connected to the user site.Of course, the user site may also be displayed on the login screen.

Upon determining that the user has been registered with the server, theserver may determine whether the user's home appliances have beenregistered with the server. Therefore, the external terminal displaysany home appliances registered with the server. If plural homeappliances are registered, the user may select a specific one of thehome appliances to be served. For example, in a case in which a washingmachine and a drying machine of the user have been registered with theserver, the user may select the washing machine to remotely control thewashing machine. On the other hand, the user may select the dryingmachine to remotely control the drying machine. Afterwards, the user mayrequest a remote service for the specific product through theapplication.

In a case in which the user's home appliances have not been registeredwith the server, on the other hand, the user may register the homeappliances with the server by selecting a product registration methodmenu shown in FIG. 16. The registration procedure may be the same as theabovementioned procedure.

The application may be provided for a specific product group, forexample a laundry machine (a washing machine, a drying machine, arefresher, etc.). In addition, the application may be provided for aspecific product, for example a washing machine. Therefore, the user'sexecution of the application may mean service request for a specificproduct group or a specific product. When the user executes theapplication, therefore, user information of the specific product groupor the specific product may be input to log in to the server. Afterlogin, therefore, the server determines whether the home appliance hasbeen registered with the server together with the user information.

In a case in which the product related to the application has not beenregistered with the server after the user login, no product is displayedas shown in FIG. 17 as an example. Consequently, product registrationmay be possible even through this screen. Of course, in a case in whichonly a washing machine has been registered with the server, theregistered washing machine may be displayed. On the other hand, in acase in which a plurality of products has been registered with theserver, the registered products may be displayed. The user may touch ahome appliance which acquires a remote service to request the remoteservice of the touched home appliance.

User selection of the product registration method shown in FIGS. 16 and17 means that the user accesses the home appliance setup mode asdescribed above. That is, the Wi-Fi communication module of each homeappliance may have a fixed address of the setup mode and user selectionof the product registration method means that the application accessesthe fixed address. Of course, in order to access the setup mode of thehome appliance, the setup mode of the Wi-Fi communication module of thehome appliances is executed. Particulars related to the externalterminal and the state display unit 130 of the home appliance,communication connection of the home appliance, and registration of thehome appliance with the server may be the same as those previouslydescribed with reference to FIGS. 9 to 14.

Meanwhile, it is important for the server to confirm the owner andlocation of the product at the time of registration of the product withthe server. At the time of the product registration, therefore, it isnecessary to transmit the user information to the server. In addition,it is also necessary to transmit information regarding the AP address tothe server. Accessing the setup mode of the Wi-Fi communication modulemay be performed to match the user information with the product. Forthis reason, signal transmission and reception between the externalterminal and the home appliance need not be performed.

For example, the home appliance may find the user AP through executionof the setup mode.

The AP information, the home appliance information (for example, whetherthe home appliance is a washing machine), and the user information maybe transmitted to the server or the fixed address site through theexternal terminal. Therefore, the server may confirm whose homeappliance and what kind of home appliance the home appliance intendingto connect to the specific AP is from such information. The userinformation may be transmitted to the communication module and stored inthe communication module.

As a result, protocol setup or addition of hardware for signaltransmission and reception between the communication module of the homeappliance and the external terminal is not required. Therefore, the homeappliance may be easily registered with the server without additionalcost.

Of course, as previously described, it may also possible for thecommunication module of the home appliance 20 to receive only a signalthrough the smartphone. That is, the communication module may simplyreceive the user information and the user AP information through thesmartphone and may be connected to the server based on the userinformation and the user AP information. Similarly, even in this case,protocol setup or addition of hardware for signal transmission andreception between the communication module and the external terminal isnot required.

This means that the home appliance 20 is not directly remotelycontrolled through the smartphone by direct communication of the homeappliance 20 with the smartphone. That is, this means that thesmartphone communicates with the server but does not directlycommunicate with the home appliance. In other words, this means that theremote management service is carried out through the server. As aresult, the home appliance 20 does not require a means for communicationwith the external terminal, such as the smartphone and thus the increasein cost of the home appliance may be prevented. In addition, the servermay perform management of various home appliance histories and usercarriers, information accumulation and renewal, user taste analysis,etc. Accordingly, a customized service may be provided and theinformation may be used in a variety of forms.

The user may more easily register the home appliance with the serverusing the application. In addition, a variety of management services asdescribed above may be carried out using the application.

As stated above, the method or procedure for registering the user andthe home appliance with the server and characteristics of the homeappliance and the online service for the same have been described indetail.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the online service for the homeappliance is implemented using the external terminal after the user andthe home appliance are registered with the server will be described indetail. In particular, an embodiment related to remote control of awashing machine will be described in detail.

For a home appliance, such as a washing machine, unconditional remotecontrol is not desirable. This is because remote control is meaninglessin a case in which the washing machine is not ready to operate, forexample in a case in which a door of the washing machine is open or in acase in which no detergent is introduced into the washing machine. Inaddition, since the user does not directly manipulate the washingmachine, confusion between the user who remotely controls the washingmachine and another user who directly manipulates the washing machinemay occur. Furthermore, an unexpected accident due to remote control mayoccur.

Generally, several persons commonly use a home appliance, such as alaundry machine. As a result, confusion between a user interface throughthe direction manipulation of the laundry machine and a user interfacethrough the remote control of the laundry machine may occur. Forexample, one person may remotely control the laundry machine and anotherperson may directly manipulate the laundry machine.

In addition, when the laundry machine will be directly manipulated, thelaundry machine may be abruptly operated through the remote control withthe result that an accident may occur. This is because the remotecontrol does not simply drive software but drives hardware, such as adrum, a water supply valve, a heater, etc. of the laundry machine.

For this reason, a method of preventing confusion between users whosimultaneously use one home appliance and improving safety of the homeappliance may be needed.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention that iscapable of preventing confusion between users and improving safety whileimplementing remote control will be described in detail.

In order to solve the above problems and to selectively perform theremote control, the washing machine may be provided with a remotecontrol selection unit. In a case in which the remote control isselected, such information may be transmitted to the server. Of course,in a case in which the user requests the state information of thewashing machine through the application, the user may receive theinformation from the server.

In simple terms, remote control means control of the washing machinethrough an application of an external terminal, such as a smartphone.For easy remote control, a server may be provided between the smartphoneand the washing machine.

A control panel 100 applicable to this embodiment is shown in FIG. 18.The control panel 100 of FIG. 18 is very similar to the control panel100 of FIG. 1. Consequently, the structure and hardware of the controlpanel may be used without change with the result that manufacturers, whomanufacture various models of the washing machine, may reducemanufacturing cost per product.

The home appliance according to this embodiment includes a remoteservice activation input unit 123. The remote service activation inputunit 123 may be provided at the control panel 100. Consequently, whetherremote control will be performed may be directly selected by the homeappliance and, only in a case in which the remote control is selected,the remote control may be performed.

The remote service activation input unit 123 may be configured in theform of a button. In order for the user to intuitively confirm afunction of the remote service activation input unit 123, a message“SMART” may be displayed on the remote service activation input unit123. Consequently, the user may set or cancel remote service activationthrough the remote service activation input unit 123.

Remote service activation may mean a state in which a remote service isreceived from the server 10 through the external terminal 40, notthrough the home appliance. That is, remote service activation may meana state in which the home appliance can be remotely controlled throughthe external terminal 40.

Setup of the remote service activation is direct input of user intentionto perform remote control. Consequently, such user intention may bedisplayed through the home appliance. This is provided to enable anotheruser to easily confirm a remote service activation state through thehome appliance, thereby preventing confusion between the two users.

For example, when another user will use the home appliance withoutconfirmation of the remote service activation state, the home appliancemay be driven through remote control. On the other hand, another usermay use the home appliance before the home appliance is driven throughremote control.

As a prerequisite for remote control, therefore, the remote serviceactivation input unit 123 may be provided. Of course, when the remoteservice activation is set, the remote service activation state may beeffectively displayed on the home appliance. The remote serviceactivation input unit 123 may be an input unit provided only for settingand cancelation of the remote service activation.

Setting and cancelation of the remote service activation must be inputaccording to user intention, not user error. In other words, unintendedinput must be prevented. Consequently, setting and cancelation of theremote service activation may be input using a method stricter thaninput through a course selection unit or an option selection unit.

When the user powers the home appliance on through the power selectionunit 140, an initial screen as shown in FIG. 10 may be displayed on thestate display unit 130. The user may set remote service activationthrough the remote service activation input unit 123. Of course, theuser may cancel the remote service activation through the remote serviceactivation input unit 123 after the remote service activation is set.

Input through a general option selection unit 120 may be performed bysimply pushing a button. That is, input may be performed irrespective oflength of a push time. However, input through the remote serviceactivation input unit 123 may be performed based on a strong intentionof the user. To this end, in a case in which the remote serviceactivation input unit 123 is configured in the form of a button, onlywhen the button is pushed for a longer time, for example three secondsor more, than other input units are pushed.

On the other hand, it may be necessary to indicate that the remoteservice activation input unit 123 is being normally operated in a statein which the remote service activation input unit 123 is pushedirrespective of length of the push time. To this end, an indication unit123 a connected to the remote service activation input unit 123 to emitlight may be provided.

When the user starts to push the remote service activation input unit123 in a state in which remote service activation is canceled, theindication unit 123 a emits light. When the remote service activationinput unit 123 is pushed, for example, for three seconds or more, ascreen shown in FIG. 19, which will hereinafter be described, may bedisplayed on the state display unit 130.

Emission of light from the indication unit 123 a may be continued untilthe remote service activation is canceled. That is, the indication unit123 a emits light until the screen shown in FIG. 19 is displayed and theremote service activation is set. In a state in which the remote serviceactivation is set, emission of light from the indication unit 123 a maybe continued until the remote service activation is canceled.

When the user starts to push the remote service activation input unit123 in a state in which remote service activation is set, on the otherhand, the indication unit 123 a does not emit light. Consequently, whenthe user starts to push the remote service activation input unit 123irrespective of whether the remote service activation is set orcanceled, a state in which the indication unit emits light may bechanged into a state in which the indication unit does not emit light ora state in which the indication unit does not emit light may be changedinto a state in which the indication unit emits light. As a result, theuser may intuitively confirm that the remote service activation inputunit 123 is being normally operated. In this way, the input method ofthe remote service activation input unit 123 is different from otherinput methods, thereby preventing confusion between users.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 18, a washing button 120 a and a rinsingbutton 120 b may be simultaneously pushed to select button locking. Thatis, the button locking is a hidden input unit. As a result, childrencannot manipulate buttons.

In the same manner as selection of button locking, the remote serviceactivation input unit 123 may be implemented as a hidden input unit.That is, the remote service activation input unit may be provided toselect an original function thereof and, in addition, may be configuredto set or cancel remote service activation using another input method.

For example, a hidden input unit of a self sterilization courseincluding a spin-drying button 120 c and a water temperature button 120d may be replaced by the remote service activation input unit 123. Thatis, the two buttons to select options for spin-drying and watertemperature may be simultaneously pushed such that remote serviceactivation can be set or canceled using another input method.

Consequently, the user may clearly recognize which function of the homeappliance is performed through input of remote service activation andinput the remote service activation with a strong intention of the user.

When the user selects the remote service activation input unit 123, ascreen as shown in FIG. 19 may be displayed on the state display unit130. That is, a menu to select setting or cancelation of remote serviceactivation may be displayed. The user may select one of the two menuitems by manipulating a course indication unit 110. Alternatively, theuser may select one of the two menu items by pushing a run/pause inputunit 150.

That is, when the user selects the run/pause input unit 150 in a stateshown in FIG. 19, a smart function (remote service activation) may beset. Consequently, the user may clearly recognize and select setting andcancelation of the remote service activation through the remote serviceactivation input unit 123 and the state display unit 130. Of course, ina case in which the state display unit 130 is a touchscreen, setting andcancelation of the remote service activation may be selected by simplytouching the menu.

When the remote service activation is set, setting of the remote serviceactivation may be displayed on the state display unit 130 as shown inFIG. 20. Consequently, the user may clearly recognize that the remoteservice activation can be set through remote control. In addition, asshown in FIG. 20, a guide may be provided for how to cancel the remoteservice activation.

Meanwhile, the screen shown in FIG. 20 may be continuously maintaineduntil a remote control command is issued. Consequently, a user otherthan the user who wishes to perform remote control may easily confirmthe current state of the home appliance. In addition, when the remoteservice activation is set, a remote control icon 132 indicating thatremote control is possible may be displayed on the state display unit130. The remote control icon 132 may include “RC”, i.e. an abbreviationof “Remote Control”, by which the user may intuitively confirm whetherremote control is possible.

When the remote service activation is set, setting of the remote serviceactivation may be displayed on the home appliance in a variety of forms.The user may intuitively confirm a state in which the remote serviceactivation is set through various displays, such as the emission oflight from the indication unit 123 a, the guide message on the statedisplay unit 130, and the remote control icon 132 of the state displayunit 130. Consequently, another user approaching the home appliance mayconfirm this state and may be prevented from manipulating the homeappliance. As a result, confusion between the users does not occur.

Meanwhile, remote control is performed based on communication connectionof the home appliance. Only in a state in which the home appliance iscommunication connected to the server, therefore, remote serviceactivation may be set. Consequently, in a case in which input throughthe remote service activation input unit 123 is performed in a state inwhich home appliance is not communication connected to the server, thestate display unit 130 may display a guide message for communicationconnection. Once communication connection to the server is achieved, thecommunication connection may be automatically performed afterwards. Thatis, when the home appliance is powered on, the communication connectionmay be immediately performed. However, the remote service activation isnot frequently input before communication connection.

As previously described, setting of the remote service activation isinput of a strong intention of the user who wishes to perform remotecontrol to the home appliance. In addition, the strong intention of theuser is displayed on the home appliance using various methods asdescribed above. Consequently, it is necessary to prevent another userfrom directly manipulating the home appliance irrespective of the strongintention of the user. In addition, it is necessary to prevent childrenfrom inappropriately manipulating the control panel 100 to cancel astate in which remote service activation is set.

In order to solve this problem, according to this embodiment, the courseselection unit 110 and the option selection unit 120 may be deactivatedin a state in which remote service activation is set. That is, inputthrough the course selection unit 110 and the option selection unit 120may not be possible. In the same manner, the run/pause input unit 150may be deactivated. When the course selection or the option selection isperformed in such a deactivated state, a warning sound may be generatedto inform the user of the deactivated state.

According to this embodiment, it may be necessary to directly manipulatethe laundry machine irrespective of a strong intention of the user whowishes to perform remote control. That is, the laundry machine may havedifficulty in operation or it may be necessary to immediately use thelaundry machine.

For example, in a case in which a user who wishes to perform remotecontrol while the user is out returns home earlier than expected, theremote control may not be needed. In another example, one of a couplemay return home earlier than the other with the result that it may notbe necessary for the other to perform remote control.

In a state in which the remote service activation is set, therefore,cancelation of the remote service activation may be performed throughthe remote service activation input unit 123 and, in addition, power offmay also be possible through the power selection unit 140. The remoteservice activation may be automatically canceled through such power off.Power off means interruption in operation of the laundry machine in anemergency. As previously described, setting and cancelation of theremote service activation are performed somewhat strictly andcomplicatedly. In order to easily cope with emergency, input through thepower selection unit 140 may be possible even in a state in which theremote service activation is set.

In a state in which the remote service activation is set, on the otherhand, door locking is required because it is not possible to know when aremote control command has been issued. In addition, setting andcancelation of the remote service activation through a door lockinginput unit may be deactivated. This may mean that only input through thepower selection unit 140 and the remote service activation input unit123 is possible on the control panel 100 in a state in which the remoteservice activation is set.

In addition, in a state in which the remote service activation is set,door locking may be performed until the remote service activation iscanceled. This is provided to prevent the home appliance from beingoperated through remote control in a state in which the door locking isreleased. In a case of door locking, an expression “door locked” may bedisplayed on the state display unit 130.

When the remote service activation is set through the home appliance asdescribed above, remote control through the external terminal ispossible. Until the remote control is performed, a remote control readystate may be displayed on the home appliance as shown in FIG. 20.

In the home appliance, on the other hand, only manipulation through thepower selection unit 140 and the remote service activation input unit123 may be possible. Consequently, the remote service activation may becanceled only by the power selection unit 140 and the remote serviceactivation input unit 123. When the operation of the home appliance isinitiated and ended through remote control, the home appliance may beautomatically powered off. Even in this case, therefore, the remoteservice activation may be canceled.

The remote service activation may not be set through the externalterminal. This is because the home appliance may not be remotelycontrolled in a specific state, for example in a state in which the dooris open. Consequently, it is necessary for the external terminal toindirectly cancel the remote service activation by powering off.

Hereinafter, an operational relationship among the server, the homeappliance, and the external terminal for a remote service and a displaystate of the home appliance and the external terminal will be describedin detail.

A flow for remote control of the home appliance 20, for example awashing machine, through the external terminal 40 will be described withreference to FIG. 21.

A step (S1) of transmitting user information to the server 10 throughthe external terminal 40 to log in to the server 10 may be performed. Tothis end, execution of the application, registration of the product, andinput of user information including a user ID and a password previouslydescribed with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17 will be performed first.

When the user logs in to the server 10 through the external terminal 40,the server 10 specifies a home appliance for a remote service (remotecontrol) based on the user information. That is, the server 10 specifiesan owner and location of the home appliance. In other words, the server10 specifies a home appliance to be remotely controlled. Subsequently,the server 10 determines whether remote service activation of thespecified home appliance is set (S2).

The home appliance may be specified using various methods.

First, the server 10 may specify the home appliance based on userinformation received from the external terminal 40 and home applianceinformation stored in the server 10 in a state of being matched with theuser information. In addition, the server may specify the home appliancefor a remote service based on home appliance information received fromthe external terminal 40 together with the user information. In thiscase, an application executed by the external terminal may be providedfor one home appliance, for example a washing machine. That is, the userinformation and the home appliance information may be matched with eachother in a one to one fashion. Consequently, the server may confirminformation regarding who will remotely control his/her specific homeappliance. As a result, the server may specify the home appliance basedon the user information.

On the other hand, the application executed by the external terminal maybe provided for a plurality of home appliances. That is, a plurality ofhome appliance information items may be matched with the userinformation. After login, the user may select one home appliance to beremotely controlled. For example, the user may select one from between adrying machine and a washing machine. That is, the user may select thewashing machine. Even in this case, therefore, the server may confirminformation regarding who will remotely control his/her specific homeappliance. As a result, the server may specify the home appliance, forexample the washing machine, based on the user information.

The confirmation step may be performed by the server 10 requesting stateinformation from the home appliance 20 and the home appliance 20transmitting the state information to the server 10. When the stateinformation is transmitted to the server 10, the server 10 transmits thestate information to the external terminal 40 (S3).

In a state in which the home appliance 20 is powered off or remoteservice activation is not set, remote control is not possible. In astate in which the remote service activation is not set or the homeappliance 20 is powered off, therefore, such state information may bereceived by the external terminal 40 and displayed on the externalterminal 40. FIG. 22 shows that impossibility of remote control isdisplayed on the external terminal.

On the other hand, in a state in which the remote service activation isset, the home appliance may be remotely controlled. Consequently,current state information of the home appliance may be transmitted tothe external terminal through the server and displayed on the externalterminal. The state information may include information regardingwhether the remote service activation is set, a state in which remotecontrol is ready, a state in which the home appliance is being operated,a state in which operation of the home appliance is paused, and ascheduled operation state.

In a state in which the remote service activation is set, a current homeappliance state may correspond to at least one selected from among astate in which remote control is ready, a state in which the homeappliance is being operated, a state in which operation of the homeappliance is paused, and a scheduled operation state. Consequently, theexternal terminal may receive the current home appliance state throughthe server and display the current home appliance state. In thebeginning of remote control, remote control is ready. FIG. 23 shows thata remote control ready state is displayed on the external terminal.

The server 10 may determine which model the home appliance correspondsto based upon the home appliance information received from the homeappliance or stored in the server 10 and thus have a variety of variableoperation information of the model.

For a laundry machine, the variable operation information may include awashing course, a drying course, and various options necessary toperform each course. The options may include a washing degree(contamination degree), the number of times of rinsing, temperature ofwash water, a spin-drying degree, and whether or not steam is used. Thatis, the variable operation information may be differently set perspecific model. For example, for a model having no steam function, thevariable operation information may not include whether or not steam isused. In addition, courses that can be selected or the number of coursesmay be changed per model.

In a state in which remote service activation the home appliance is set,the server 10 specifies variable operation information corresponding tothe home appliance information. Subsequently, the server 10 may transmitthe variable operation information of the home appliance to the externalterminal 40 (S4).

As shown in FIG. 23, a remote control ready state may be displayed onthe external terminal 40. In this case, the home appliance is notoperated. As previously described, therefore, the variable operationinformation received through the server may also be displayed as shownin FIG. 23.

The variable operation information may be information that can bechanged by the external terminal. Consequently, the user may select aspecific course from a course menu through the external terminal andselect options from an option menu. In addition, the user may select awashing start menu to remotely control the laundry machine such that thelaundry machine starts to perform washing. That is, the externalterminal 40 may transmit a command signal to the home appliance suchthat the home appliance is operated based on the received variableoperation information (S5). In addition, the external terminal 40 mayset the variable operation information and transmit a command to thehome appliance such that the home appliance is operated based on the setvariable operation information. The command is transmitted to the homeappliance 20 via the server 10 to operate the home appliance (S6).

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 23, power off of the home appliance may beremotely commanded in the remote control ready state. The home appliancemay be powered off according to such a command.

In addition to display on the external terminal, start of the remotecontrol may be displayed on the home appliance. That is, operation ofthe home appliance through the remote control may be display for apredetermined time and then the home appliance may be operated.

Upon reception of the remote control command through the server, thescreen of the state display unit 130 of the home appliance may beswitched from the screen shown in FIG. 20 to a screen shown in FIG. 24.That is, operation of the home appliance through the remote control maybe displayed for a predetermined time, for example 5 seconds, and thenthe screen may be switched to display an operation state of the homeappliance as shown in FIG. 25.

Meanwhile, when the home appliance is operated, the operation state ofthe home appliance may be transmitted to the server (S7). Of course, theoperation state as shown in FIG. 25 may be displayed on the statedisplay unit 130. The operation state may be transmitted to the externalterminal 40 and, as shown in FIG. 26, the external terminal may displaythe operation state of the home appliance (S8).

For the laundry machine, which a course is being performed and whichoptions have been selected and are being executed may be displayed. Inaddition, performance of one selected from among a washing cycle, arinsing cycle, and a spin-drying cycle may be displayed. Of course, timeinformation, such as a time remaining until washing is ended, may alsobe displayed.

When the operation state of the home appliance is displayed, power offof the home appliance may be commanded as shown in FIG. 26. In addition,pause of the home appliance may be commanded. That is, the operation ofthe home appliance may be paused or the home appliance may be poweredoff by selecting a pause menu and a power off menu displayed on theexternal terminal.

For the laundry machine, the operation of the home appliance isperformed by driving hardware, such as driving of the drum or supply ofwater. Consequently, remote control that can be performed duringoperation of the home appliance may be minimized. Consequently, only apower off or pause command may be possible. Of course, selection of awrinkle prevention function is not instant control and thus may bepossible even during operation of the home appliance.

A pause state is displayed on the external terminal and the homeappliance as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28. In the pause state, the setvariable operation information may be changed. In addition, in the pausestate, resuming may be selected. When the pause state is displayed onthe external terminal, therefore, a resuming menu may be displayed andresuming may be selected to resume operation of the home appliance.

As previously described, the state information of the home appliance maybe scheduled operation information. Consequently, a scheduled operationstate of the home appliance may be displayed on the external terminal.FIG. 29 shows an example of display on the external terminal when thewashing machine is in a scheduled operation state, wherein at least oneselected from among a time remaining until operation of the washingmachine is ended, a selected washing course, detailed options of theselected course, and a scheduled operation time change menu may bedisplayed.

The scheduled operation state, i.e. under the scheduled operation, meansthat washing will be ended when a set time elapses from now, i.e. when adisplayed time elapses, and means that washing is not being carried outat the present time.

FIG. 30 shows the state display unit 130 of the washing machinecorresponding to the display on the external terminal shown in FIG. 29.In the same manner, the state display unit 130 of the washing machinemay display that the washing machine is under scheduled operation, theremaining time, and detailed options.

In a case in which the washing machine is under scheduled operation, theuser may change a scheduled operation time through the externalterminal. That is, the user may change the scheduled operation time bypushing a scheduled operation time change item shown in FIG. 29.

In a case in which the washing machine is in the scheduled operationstate, detailed options of the scheduled washing course, i.e. detailedvalues of the set course, may be checked or changed. That is, thevariable operation information, which is received from the server anddisplayed, may be set. In addition, the washing machine may be poweredoff or the operation of the washing machine may be paused.

FIG. 31 shows an example of a popup window displayed in a case in whichthe scheduled operation time change item is selected. The user maychange the scheduled operation time through the popup window as needed.In a case in which the scheduled operation time change is confirmed orcanceled, the popup window disappears and switching to the screen shownin FIG. 29 is performed. At this time, a time remaining until washing isended is displayed as a changed time. That is, in a case in which threehours is changed to four hours, the three hours in FIG. 29 will bechanged to four hours.

FIG. 32 shows an example of the state display unit 130 in a case inwhich the scheduled operation time is changed through the externalterminal. In this case, information regarding the scheduled operationtime change and information regarding the changed remaining time may bedisplayed. Afterwards, when a set time (for example, three seconds)elapses, the screen of FIG. 32 is switched to the screen of FIG. 30. Ofcourse, the remaining time, changed from three hours to four hours, isdisplayed.

When the home appliance starts to operate through a scheduled operation,the screens shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 may be displayed on the homeappliance and the external terminal, respectively.

Meanwhile, in a case in which the home appliance is a laundry machine, awrinkle prevention function may be selected through the externalterminal.

The wrinkle prevention function is a function for driving the drum afterthe course is ended to prevent wrinkles from being formed in thelaundry. When washing or rinsing is ended, the laundry in the drum ispressed down on the bottom of the drum due to gravity. Particularly, ina case in which washing is ended, the laundry has moisture remainingtherein, which is liable to cause the laundry to form wrinkles due toload of the laundry. In addition, in a case in which the laundry isentangled, wrinkles may be excessively formed in the laundry.

Therefore, continuous, periodic, or intermittent driving of the drum isrequired for wrinkle prevention.

A drying machine or a combo washer dryer may supply cold air to thelaundry. Therefore, cold air may also be continuously, periodically, orintermittently supplied into the drum.

The wrinkle prevention function is very effective in a case in which thelaundry is left in the drum for a long time after the course is ended.Therefore, the wrinkle prevention function may be selected and carriedout through the external terminal only. That is, the control panel ofthe washing machine, the drying machine, or the combo washer dryer maynot be provided with a selection unit for selecting such a function.This is because it is less liable that the laundry is left in the drumfor a long time in a case in which the user directly manipulates thecontrol panel to carry out washing.

Only in a case in which remote control is set, therefore, the functionmay be selected through the external terminal.

As shown in FIG. 26, the user may select execution of the wrinkleprevention function by selecting a wrinkle prevention function itemdisplayed on the external terminal. A wrinkle prevention execution timemay be input by default. For example, the time may be preset to fourhours by default. This is because wrinkles are prevented from beingformed in the laundry for a long time even in a case in which the timeis set only to be short. In addition, the user may push any button ofthe washing machine to easily cancel the wrinkle prevention function ina case in which the time is set to be long.

For example, as shown in FIG. 26, in a case in which an hour and fiftyminutes remains until washing is ended and three hours remains until theuser arrives at home, the user may select the wrinkle preventionfunction. Even when the user arrives at home after five hours,therefore, the wrinkle prevention function is being carried out. Theuser, having arrived at home, may push any button of the washing machineto stop operation of the washing machine.

When the wrinkle prevention function is selected through the externalterminal, a screen shown in FIG. 33 may be displayed on the homeappliance.

The previous screen shown in FIG. 25 is switched to the screen shown inFIG. 33 to display that the wrinkle prevention function has beenselected instead of the information regarding washing in progress. Inaddition, a wrinkle prevention completion time may be displayed. When aset time elapses, switching to the screen shown in FIG. 26, i.e. theprevious screen, may be performed.

FIG. 34 shows an example of the state display unit of the washingmachine in a case in which the course is ended. In a case in which thewrinkle prevention function is not carried out, the washing machine maybe powered off after a certain time elapses. In a case in which thewrinkle prevention function is carried out, on the other hand, thewashing machine may not be powered off and, as shown in FIG. 35, amessage stating that the wrinkle prevention function is being carriedout may be displayed. In this case, a screen shown in FIG. 24 and ascreen shown in FIG. 35 may be alternately displayed for a predeterminedtime in order for the user to more clearly confirm a current state ofthe washing machine.

Meanwhile, the wrinkle prevention function may be selected even in acase in which the laundry machine is ready to operate in a scheduledoperation state as well as in a case in which the laundry machine isbeing operated. As shown in FIG. 29, therefore, the wrinkle preventionfunction may be selected even in the scheduled operation state. Inaddition, selection of the wrinkle prevention function may be displayedon the laundry machine. Such display may be achieved using a wrinkleprevention icon 133 shown in FIGS. 33 and 35. An iron-shaped icon may bedisplayed on the state display unit 130 to display that the wrinkleprevention function has been set and is being carried out.

As previously described, in a state in which the remote serviceactivation is set, the current state of the home appliance may be oneselected from among a state in which remote control is ready, a state inwhich the home appliance is being operated, a state in which operationof the home appliance is paused, and a scheduled operation state. Inaddition, the state information may include information regarding anerror of the home appliance or a communication connection error.

Information regarding an error of the home appliance, for example nosupply of water, may be transmitted from the home appliance to theexternal terminal through the server and displayed on the externalterminal. In this case, the external terminal may perform onlymonitoring and the error may be corrected by the home appliance.

In addition, the external terminal transmits various commands to theserver. When the external terminal does not receive return informationcorresponding to the transmitted commands, however, communicationconnection error information may be displayed on the external terminal.Such a communication connection error may be generated between theserver and the external terminal or between the server and the homeappliance.

The communication connection error may be displayed in a case in whichthe return information or the state information is not received by theexternal terminal for a set time.

Hereinafter, a control method for the home appliance, particularly thelaundry machine, effectively displaying information regarding remotecontrol will be described.

The laundry machine is provided to communicate with the server and mayinclude a control panel having a state display unit to displaycommunication connection with the server. The laundry machine mayinclude a remote service activation input unit 123 to set or cancelremote service activation.

First, when the remote service activation is set, an icon 132 indicatinga state in which the remote service activation is set is continuouslydisplayed until the remote service activation is canceled. Of course,the remote service activation may be set based on communicationconnection between the laundry machine and the server. Consequently, thestate display unit 130 may display that communication connection betweenthe laundry machine and the server is being performed. In this case, anicon 131 indicating a communication connection state may be continuouslydisplayed on the state display unit 130.

As a result, the user may intuitively confirm the communicationconnection state and the remote service activation state through theicons 131 and 132 displayed on the state display unit 130.

Meanwhile, the user may intuitively confirm a current state of thelaundry machine. To this end, information indicating a state in whichthe remote service activation is set may be displayed on the statedisplay unit 130 together with the icon 132 until the laundry machinereceives a remote control command from the server. Consequently, theuser may clearly confirm that the laundry machine is in a remote controlready state.

When the laundry machine receives a remote control command from theserver, start of operation of the laundry machine may be displayed onthe state display unit 130 together with the icon 132. That is,information regarding that the laundry machine will start to operatesoon may be displayed. Consequently, a user approaching the laundrymachine may not be confused due to abrupt operation of the laundrymachine.

In addition, when a predetermined time, for example 5 seconds, elapsesafter the start of operation of the laundry machine is displayed, anoperation state of the laundry machine may be displayed on the statedisplay unit 130 together with the icon 132.

As described above, the state display unit 130 may display the icons andthe information such that a user approaching the laundry machine mayintuitively confirm the current state of the laundry machine.Consequently, confusion between the user performing the remote controland the user approaching the laundry machine may be prevented.

As is apparent from the above description, the embodiments of thepresent invention as described above have the following effects.

It is possible to provide a home appliance that is capable of performingnot only original functions of the home appliance but also extended ornew functions of the home appliance without change in hardware of thehome appliance.

It is possible to provide a home appliance that is capable ofcommunicating with external devices to easily receive a variety ofinformation through a server or an external terminal such that functionsof the home appliance are extended and convenient use of the homeappliance is achieved using such information and an online systemincluding the same.

It is possible to provide a home appliance that is capable ofcommunicating with external devices to transmit a variety of informationregarding the home appliance to a server or an external terminal suchthat functions of the home appliance are extended and convenient use ofthe home appliance is achieved using such information and an onlinesystem including the same.

It is possible to provide a home appliance that is capable of easilycommunicating with external devices such that convenient use of the homeappliance is achieved and an online system including the same.

It is possible to provide a home appliance that is capable of enabling auser to easily confirm information regarding the home appliance withoutdirectly accessing the home appliance and to control the home applianceand an online system including the same.

It is possible to provide a home appliance, communication connection ofwhich is easily and conveniently achieved although the home appliancedoes not have a text input means.

It is possible to provide a home appliance, communication connection ofwhich is possible and information displayed on which is diversified suchthat convenient use of the home appliance is achieved although the homeappliance does not have a display unit to display a variety ofinformation.

It is possible to provide a home appliance that is capable of minimizingconfusion between direct manipulation of the home appliance and remotecontrol of the home appliance and a control method of the homeappliance.

It is possible to provide a home appliance, particularly a laundrymachine, which is capable of improving user satisfaction and reliabilityand a control method of the home appliance.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a home appliance andan online system including the same that substantially obviate one ormore problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a home appliance thatis capable of performing not only original functions of the homeappliance but also extended or new functions of the home appliancewithout change in hardware of the home appliance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home appliancethat is capable of communicating with external devices to easily receivea variety of information through a server or an external terminal suchthat functions of the home appliance are extended and convenient use ofthe home appliance is achieved using such information and an onlinesystem including the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home appliancethat is capable of communicating with external devices to transmit avariety of information regarding the home appliance to a server or anexternal terminal such that functions of the home appliance are extendedand convenient use of the home appliance is achieved using suchinformation and an online system including the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home appliancethat is capable of easily communicating with external devices such thatconvenient use of the home appliance is achieved and an online systemincluding the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home appliancethat is capable of enabling a user to easily confirm informationregarding the home appliance without directly accessing the homeappliance and to control the home appliance and an online systemincluding the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home appliance,communication connection of which is easily and conveniently achievedalthough the home appliance does not have a text input means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home appliance,communication connection of which is possible and information displayedon which is diversified such that convenient use of the home applianceis achieved although the home appliance does not have a display unit todisplay a variety of information.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home appliancethat is capable of minimizing confusion between direct manipulation ofthe home appliance and remote control of the home appliance and acontrol method of the home appliance.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a homeappliance, particularly a laundry machine, which is capable of improvinguser satisfaction and reliability and a control method of the homeappliance.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, amethod of using an online system includes transmitting user informationto a server through an external terminal to log in to the server, theserver specifying a home appliance for a remote service based on theuser information received from the external terminal and determiningwhether remote service activation of the specified home appliance isset, upon determining that the remote service activation of the homeappliance is set, the server transmitting operation information of thehome appliance to the external terminal, the external terminaltransmitting a command signal to the server such that the home applianceis operated based on the received operation information, the serverreceiving the command signal, and the server transmitting the commandsignal to the home appliance such that the home appliance is operated.

The server may specify a home appliance for a remote service based onthe user information received from the external terminal and homeappliance information stored in the server in a state of being matchedwith the user information.

The server may specify a home appliance for a remote service based onhome appliance information received from the external terminal togetherwith the user information.

The operation information may be changeable by the external terminal.

The server may specify operation information corresponding to the homeappliance information and transmit the specified operation informationto the external terminal.

The home appliance may include a laundry machine and the operationinformation may include a washing course and option information in thewashing course.

The operation information may include at least one selected from among awashing degree, the number of times of rinsing, a spin-drying degree,temperature of wash water, and whether or not steam is used.

The external terminal may set the operation information and transmit theset operation information to the server such that the home appliance isoperated based on the set operation information.

An operation state of the home appliance may be transmitted to theexternal terminal through the server such that the operation state ofthe home appliance is displayed on the external terminal.

The external terminal may transmit a command to pause operation of thehome appliance to the home appliance through the server during theoperation of the home appliance such that the operation of the homeappliance is paused.

In a paused state of the home appliance, the home appliance may transmitthe paused state and the set operation information to the externalterminal through the server.

In the paused state of the home appliance, the external terminal maychange the set operation information and transmit a command to resumethe operation of the home appliance to the home appliance through theserver such that the operation of the home appliance is resumed.

The external terminal may transmit a command to power off the homeappliance to the home appliance through the server during operation ofthe home appliance such that the home appliance is powered off.

The external terminal may transmit at least one selected from between acommand to pause operation of the home appliance and a command to poweroff the home appliance during the operation of the home appliance.

The home appliance may have a remote service activation input unit toset or cancel the remote service activation according to user selection.

The remote service activation input unit may be provided only to set orcancel the remote service activation.

The remote service activation input unit may be provided to select anoriginal function of the home appliance and may be configured to set orcancel the remote service activation using another input method.

The home appliance may further include a Wi-Fi communication moduleequipped in or connected to the home appliance, wherein the homeappliance may be communication connected to the server via the Wi-Ficommunication module and an access point (AP).

The home appliance may have a display unit to display a state of thehome appliance, a Wi-Fi communication connection state, and a remoteservice activation state.

The remote service activation of the home appliance may be set only inthe Wi-Fi communication connection state.

The method may further include determining whether the user informationand the home appliance information have been registered with the serverafter the login.

Upon determining that the user information and the home applianceinformation have been registered with the server, the server maydetermine the remote service activation state of the home appliance.

Upon determining that the user information and the home applianceinformation have not been registered with the server, the externalterminal may guide how to register the home appliance with the server.

In another aspect of the present invention, an online service systemincludes a server, a home appliance having a Wi-Fi communication modulesupporting a setup mode for communication connection to the server and ause mode for communication, an input unit to operate the setup mode, anda remote control activation input unit to set or cancel online serviceactivation, and an external terminal accessing the setup mode to inputService Set Identifier (SSID) information of an AP which will access thecommunication module and user information necessary to register the homeappliance with the server such that the setup mode is switched to theuse mode and logging in to the server to request a remote service of thehome appliance from the server, when the online service activation ofthe home appliance is set, such that the remote service of the homeappliance is performed.

In another aspect of the present invention, an online service systemincludes a server, a home appliance having a Wi-Fi communication modulecommunication connected to the server and a remote service activationinput unit to set or cancel remote service activation, and an externalterminal configured to receive operation information of the homeappliance from the server only in a case in which the remote serviceactivation of the home appliance is set, to set the operationinformation, and to transmit a command signal to the server such thatthe home appliance is operated based on the set operation information,thereby remotely controlling the home appliance.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of using an onlinesystem includes transmitting user information to a server through anexternal terminal to log in to the server, the server specifying a homeappliance for a remote service based on the user information receivedfrom the external terminal and determining a remote service activationstate of the specified home appliance, upon determining that the remoteservice activation of the home appliance is set, the server receivingstate information of the home appliance from the home appliance andtransmitting the received state information of the home appliance to theexternal terminal, and receiving and displaying the state information ofthe home appliance on the external terminal.

The home appliance may include a laundry machine and the stateinformation may include at least one selected from among a state inwhich remote control is ready, a state in which the laundry machine isbeing operated, a state in which operation of the laundry machine ispaused, and a scheduled operation state.

In a case in which the state information is the state in which remotecontrol is ready or the state in which operation of the laundry machineis paused, operation information of the home appliance received from theserver may be displayed on the external terminal.

In a case in which the state information is the state in which thelaundry machine is being operated or the scheduled operation state, awrinkle prevention selection unit to select a wrinkle preventionfunction for driving a drum after a course of the laundry machine isended to prevent wrinkles from being formed on laundry through theexternal terminal may be displayed on the external terminal.

The wrinkle prevention function may be selected and performed onlythrough the external terminal.

The remote service activation of the home appliance may be canceled onlyby any one selected from between cancelation through a remote serviceactivation input unit of the home appliance and power off of the homeappliance.

Power off of the home appliance may be achieved by at least one selectedfrom among power off of the home appliance due to completion ofoperation of the home appliance, forced power off of the home appliance,and power off of the home appliance according to a command to power offthe home appliance through the external terminal.

The state information may include error information of the homeappliance during operation of the home appliance and the errorinformation may be displayed on the external terminal.

In another aspect of the present invention, a control method of alaundry machine configured to communicate with a server and including acontrol panel having a display unit to display communication connectionwith the server includes, when remote service activation is set througha remote service activation input unit provided at the control panel,continuously displaying an icon indicating a state in which the remoteservice activation is set on the display unit until the remote serviceactivation is canceled, displaying information indicating a state inwhich the remote service activation is set on the display unit togetherwith the icon until the laundry machine receives a remote controlcommand from the server, receiving a remote control command from theserver and displaying start of operation of the laundry machine on thedisplay unit together with the icon, and displaying an operation stateof the laundry machine on the display unit together with the icon when apredetermined time elapses after the start of operation of the laundrymachine is displayed.

The remote service activation of the laundry machine may be canceled andthe icon may not be displayed only by any one selected from between usercancelation through the remote service activation input unit and poweroff of the laundry machine performed by the user.

In another aspect of the present invention, a laundry machinecommunicates with a server, is remotely controlled by an externalterminal through the server, and has a control panel for a userinterface, wherein the control panel includes a course selection unit,an option selection unit, a start button, a display unit to displaystate information of the laundry machine, and a remote serviceactivation input unit to set or cancel remote service activationaccording to user selection and the remote control is performed only ina case in which the remote service activation is set.

In another aspect of the present invention, a control method of alaundry machine configured to communicate with a server and including acontrol panel having a display unit to display communication connectionwith the server includes displaying that the laundry machine is beingcommunication connected to the server on the display unit, when remoteservice activation is set through a remote service activation input unitprovided at the control panel during communication connection betweenthe laundry machine and the server, continuously displaying an iconindicating a state in which the remote service activation is set on thedisplay unit until the remote service activation is canceled, displayinginformation indicating a state in which the remote service activation isset on the display unit together with the icon until the laundry machinereceives a remote control command from the server, receiving a remotecontrol command from the server and displaying start of operation of thelaundry machine on the display unit together with the icon, anddisplaying an operation state of the laundry machine on the display unittogether with the icon when a predetermined time elapses after the startof operation of the laundry machine is displayed.

In another aspect of the present invention, a control method of alaundry machine configured to communicate with a server and including acontrol panel having a display unit includes when remote serviceactivation is set through a remote service activation input unit,displaying a state in which the remote service activation is set on thedisplay unit until the remote service activation is canceled, receivinga remote control command from the server and displaying start ofoperation of the laundry machine on the display unit, and displaying anoperation state of the laundry machine on the display unit when apredetermined time elapses after the start of operation of the laundrymachine is displayed.

An icon may be displayed on the display unit at the step of displayingthe start of operation of the laundry machine and/or the step ofdisplaying the operation state of the laundry machine.

The remote service activation input unit may be provided at the controlpanel.

The step of displaying the state in which the remote service activationis set may include continuously displaying an icon indicating the statein which the remote service activation is set on the display unit untilthe remote service activation is canceled and displaying informationindicating the state in which the remote service activation is set onthe display unit together with the icon until the laundry machinereceives a remote control command from the server.

A user may clearly determine through the icon whether the laundrymachine is ready for a remote service or the remote service is beingcarried out with respect to the laundry machine.

The remote service activation of the laundry machine may be canceledonly by any one selected from between user cancelation through theremote service activation input unit and power off of the laundrymachine performed by the user.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of using an onlinesystem includes registering a user with a server based on userinformation input using a user site, inputting the user information toan external terminal provided to remotely control a laundry machine tolog in to the server, the server determining whether a laundry machineof the user has been registered with the server after the login andtransmitting a result of determination to the external terminal, upondetermining that a registered laundry machine is present, the externalterminal displaying the registered laundry machine such that the usercan select the registered laundry machine and, upon determining that noregistered laundry machine is present, the external terminal displayinghow to register a laundry machine with the server, upon selecting alaundry machine to be remotely controlled through the external terminal,the server determining a remote service activation state of the laundrymachine, upon determining that the remote service activation of thelaundry machine is set, the server transmitting operation information ofthe laundry machine to the external terminal, the external terminaltransmitting a command signal to the server such that the laundrymachine is operated based on the received operation information, theserver receiving the command signal, and the server transmitting thecommand signal to the laundry machine such that the laundry machine isoperated.

In a further aspect of the present invention, an online system includesa server to provide remote control, a user site to perform registrationof a user based on input of user information and to transmit the userinformation to the server such that the user is registered with theserver, a home appliance, having a unique device identification (ID), totransmit the user information registered with the user site and thedevice ID to the user site or the server such that the user informationand the device ID are registered with the server, the home appliancebeing communication connected to the server through Wi-Fi communicationconnection with an AP, the home appliance being remotely controlledthrough the server when remote service activation is set through aremote service activation input unit, and an external terminalcommunication connected to the server to transmit the user informationand information of the home appliance to be remotely controlled to theserver and to transmit a command to remotely control the home applianceto the server.

The above features may be complexly implemented in embodiments of thepresent invention.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of using an online system comprising:transmitting user information to a server through an external terminalto log in to the server; the server specifying a home appliance for aremote service based on the user information received from the externalterminal and determining whether remote service activation of thespecified home appliance is set; upon determining that the remoteservice activation of the home appliance is set, the server transmittingoperation information of the home appliance to the external terminal;the external terminal transmitting a command signal to the server suchthat the home appliance is operated based on the received operationinformation; the server receiving the command signal; and the servertransmitting the command signal to the home appliance such that the homeappliance is operated.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein theserver specifies a home appliance for a remote service based on the userinformation received from the external terminal and home applianceinformation stored in the server in a state of being matched with theuser information.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the serverspecifies a home appliance for a remote service based on home applianceinformation received from the external terminal together with the userinformation.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operationinformation is changeable by the external terminal.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein the server specifies operation informationcorresponding to the home appliance information and transmits thespecified operation information to the external terminal.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the home appliance comprises a laundrymachine and the operation information comprises a washing course andoption information in the washing course.
 7. The method according toclaim 6, wherein the operation information comprises at least oneselected from among a washing degree, the number of times of rinsing, aspin-drying degree, temperature of wash water, and whether or not steamis used.
 8. The method according to claim 4, wherein the externalterminal sets the operation information and transmits the set operationinformation to the server such that the home appliance is operated basedon the set operation information.
 9. The method according to claim 8,wherein an operation state of the home appliance is transmitted to theexternal terminal through the server such that the operation state ofthe home appliance is displayed on the external terminal.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the external terminal transmits a commandto pause operation of the home appliance to the home appliance throughthe server during the operation of the home appliance such that theoperation of the home appliance is paused.
 11. The method according toclaim 10, wherein, in a paused state of the home appliance, the homeappliance transmits the paused state and the set operation informationto the external terminal through the server.
 12. The method according toclaim 11, wherein, in the paused state of the home appliance, theexternal terminal changes the set operation information and transmits acommand to resume the operation of the home appliance to the homeappliance through the server such that the operation of the homeappliance is resumed.
 13. The method according to claim 9, wherein theexternal terminal transmits a command to power off the home appliance tothe home appliance through the server during operation of the homeappliance such that the home appliance is powered off.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the external terminal transmits at leastone selected from between a command to pause operation of the homeappliance and a command to power off the home appliance during theoperation of the home appliance.
 15. The method according to claim 1,wherein the home appliance has a remote service activation input unit toset or cancel the remote service activation according to user selection.16. A method of using an online system comprising: transmitting userinformation to a server through an external terminal to log in to theserver; the server specifying a home appliance for a remote servicebased on the user information received from the external terminal anddetermining a remote service activation state of the specified homeappliance; upon determining that the remote service activation of thehome appliance is set, the server receiving state information of thehome appliance from the home appliance and transmitting the receivedstate information of the home appliance to the external terminal; andreceiving and displaying the state information of the home appliance onthe external terminal.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein thehome appliance comprises a laundry machine and the state informationcomprises at least one selected from among a state in which remotecontrol is ready, a state in which the laundry machine is beingoperated, a state in which operation of the laundry machine is paused,and a scheduled operation state.
 18. The method according to claim 17,wherein, in a case in which the state information is the state in whichthe laundry machine is being operated or the scheduled operation state,a wrinkle prevention selection unit to select a wrinkle preventionfunction for driving a drum after a course of the laundry machine isended to prevent wrinkles from being formed on laundry through theexternal terminal is displayed on the external terminal.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 18, wherein the wrinkle prevention function isselected and performed only through the external terminal.
 20. An onlineservice system comprising: a server; a home appliance having a Wi-Ficommunication module communication connected to the server and a remoteservice activation input unit to set or cancel remote serviceactivation; and an external terminal configured to receive operationinformation of the home appliance from the server only in a case inwhich the remote service activation of the home appliance is set, to setthe operation information, and to transmit a command signal to theserver such that the home appliance is operated based on the setoperation information, thereby remotely controlling the home appliance.